RIYADH: Members of the Federation of Saudi Chambers held talks with Mexico’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard on Thursday.
The meeting in Riyadh, which was chaired by the first deputy chairman of the chambers Tareq Al-Haidari and attended by a number of Saudi businessmen, discussed ways to strengthen commercial, economic and investment cooperation between the Kingdom and Mexico.
Al-Haidari welcomed the Mexican delegation, saying he hoped to explore ways to boost bilateral trade and investment.
He said that trade between the two countries rose by about 7 percent last year to SR3.6 billion ($960 million) after falling to SR3.3 billion in 2020 — from SR3.9 billion in 2019 — because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that there was great potential for further expansion.
He added that the Saudi economy grew by 6.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, and that the contribution of the private sector to gross domestic product increased to 39.7 percent in the year, from 38.6 percent in 2020.
Ebrard said Mexico was also keen to find new opportunities for the two nations. “We are here today to look into the Kingdom’s distinctive investment opportunities,” he said.
